Following Yarmouth's Lead, State Looks To Wastewater For Covid Clues
Press Herald, Jan 23, 2022
Staff writer Joe Lawler recently wrote an in-depth article for the Portland Press Herald about the wastewater testing program, and how it has enabled the town to tracked the omicron wave rise and fall in real time.
He also mentioned the other programs run by Yarmouth Community Coronavirus Task Force:
“Founded in part by husband and wife epidemiologists, Dr. Gib Parrish and Dr. Sharon McDonnell, the community task force noticed the potential for wastewater testing even before the first COVID-19 case was detected in Maine in March 2020.
McDonnell, who also works at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services in the COVID-19 social supports program, said it all started in 2020 with the premise that they wanted to be as prepared as possible to deal with the looming crisis. More than 100 people pitched in, and Yarmouth has maintained one of the most comprehensive COVID-19 response efforts in the state.
“We had an astonishing amount of initiative and willingness,” McDonnell said. “I think doing something really helps people get through this and to not feel helpless.”
Yarmouth, a coastal community of 9,000 residents north of Portland, came together to respond to COVID-19 in a number of ways, from sewing handmade cloth masks when masks were in short supply to counting the number of people wearing masks at certain locations to track how well the community was complying public health advice. They also started a quarantine support group to help people get through isolation and quarantine, such as by picking up groceries for people at high risk of infection and illness.”
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